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Thursday, 28 July 2016

348) “65th Plenary of North Eastern Council, Shillong 26-27 May 2016”: A Special Cover issued by the N.E. Postal Circle, Department of Posts, India in Shillong, Meghalaya on 03.06.2016:

348)
“65th Plenary of North Eastern Council, Shillong 26-27 May 2016”: A
Special Cover issued by the N.E. Postal Circle, Department of Posts, India in
Shillong, Meghalaya on 03.06.2016:

A two-day 65th
Plenary of North Eastern Council was held in Shillong from 26-27 May 2016.
The concluding day of the Plenary had the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
as the Chief Guest.

The Union Minister of
Development of North Eastern Region, the Governors and Chief Ministers of all North
Eastern States, including Sikkim as well as eminent dignitaries participated in
the Plenary.

The North Eastern Council
(NEC) set up in 1972, is the Nodal Agency for the economic and social
development of the Region which comprises the eight states of Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

The Council looks into
developing a specialised domain expertise either by itself or through an agency
model to assist States and Central Ministries in their development planning and
focussing on issues in emerging areas of livelihood, entrepreneurship, venture
funds, start ups and skills development which lead to job creation.

The
Participation, Sessions Mix and Agenda:

The two-day NEC Plenary
focussed on all-round developmental plans for the North-Eastern Region.

The Plenary sessions were
attended by the Governors and Chief Ministers of all seven States.

In various technical
sessions, discussion centred on the developmental projects related to
livelihood, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, connectivity and other related
areas in the North-East.

In the First Plenary Session, two technical sessions on “Livelihood” and “Entrepreneurship” were held in
which different Central Ministries and Departments interacted on development
projects in the North East Region.

The first technical session on “Livelihood” covered areas
like Agriculture, Rural Development, Food Processing and Textiles were given
special focus.

The second technical session had discussions on “Entrepreneurship”
in which areas like Skills, Tribal Affairs, AYUSH, MSME, commerce and such
issues were discussed.

In
both the sessions, presentations were made by the concerned Ministries at the
Centre.

In addition, various
Agenda items and Action Taken Reports were discussed.

Some
of the other major issues which came under discussion were – North-East as the
Organic Capital of the Country, North-Eastern Road Sector Development Scheme,
particularly up-gradation and maintenance of orphaned roads and inter-state
roads, Assistance for procurement of Agri and Horticulture produce, including
Medicinal plants so as to fetch remunerative prices to farmers.

These
projects are to be spearheaded in a fast-drive mode by the Central and State Agencies.

In
addition, extension of runways at Umroi Airport, Shillong, the NE Tourism
Development Council with a view to promoting World Class Tourism in the seven
states, Assistance to States and NGOs in setting up model Skill Centre
infrastructure for North Eastern youth in collaboration with NABARD and Act
East Secretariat in NEC in collaboration with IIM Shillong were also
deliberated upon at length.

During the Second Plenary Session,
discussion centred on issues such as Infrastructure and connectivity in which
the Ministries such as Road Transport & Highways, Railways, Civil Aviation,
Power, Tourism and Human Resources Development made Presentations.

On
27.05.2016, in the morning, a Marathon race called “North East leads the way –
Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan” was flagged off from Polo grounds, Shillong.

During the Third Plenary Session held on 27.05.2016,
various Ministries and Departments, including the Ministry of Home Affairs,
Inland Waterways Authority of India, Health & Family Welfare, External
affairs and Drinking Water & Sanitation participated in the discussion. The
sessions also saw Presentations by the Ministries of Home Affairs, Inland
Waterways Authority of India, Health and Family Welfare, External Affairs and
Drinking Water and Sanitation which were well received.

During the Fourth and Valedictory Plenary Session,
the Prime Minister of India as the Chief Guest in his address summed up the
good work done by the NEC as well as the path forward mentioning, inter alia:

“It is my resolve to bring
the North-East at par with the other developed regions of the country.

Government has been
focussing on the development of the North-Eastern Region through its pro-active
“Act East Policy” and will be focussing on improving all round connectivity of
the North-East with the rest of the country through road, rail, telecom, power
and waterways.

There are a number of strengths of the North
East which need to be harnessed for the healthy growth of the Region. North
East is he Gateway to the South-East Asia and there is an imperative need to
take advantage of this. The North East can become the Organic Food Basket of
India.”

The Prime Minister
stressed that all his Council of Ministers will visit the North East at least
once every fortnight, expressing his commitment to the development of the North
East.

About
the North Eastern Council (NEC):

Some of the issues which
emerged as action points for implementation were:

- The Central Government’s
“Act East Policy” which focuses on reducing the isolation of the region
by improving all round connectivity through road, rail, telecom, power and
waterways sectors to be spearheaded.

- New projects like
the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited and Numligarh Refinery Limited’s
Wax Unit in Assam which have generated tremendous employment opportunities to
be emulated in other States/Areas of the North East.

- The North East is the Gateway
to South East Asia – Opening up road and rail routes to our neighbouring
countries will give a boost to the economic development of the Region. A
specialised Highways Construction Agency set up for the North East in 2014 “
National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation” to spearhead this
work.

- An improved Internet
Connectivity Project for the North East Region, in collaboration with
Bangladesh has been set up which will make available 10 GB of seamless
alternate bandwidth for the Region, benefitting it immensely. The integration
to be followed up.

- Power Transmission
Projects proposed for all the eight States to be speeded up.

- The Indian Railways
which had spearheaded a major expansion programme and put Agartala,
Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya on the rail map will expeditiously cover all
the States with a network of railroads.

- Tourism development
projects spearheaded by the Ministry of Tourism to attract
International and Indian tourists and provide mountaineering, trekking and
adventure tourism in the Region, as well as, combining a few popular
destinations of the neighbouring countries in the tourist circuits, which will
generate employment and boost the economy of the North East.

- The North East is home
to exotic fruits, flowers, vegetables, aromatic plants and herbs, mostly
organic in origin. Sikkim has been declared the first Organic State in the
country. Other States will focus on emulating Sikkim.

- For the Rural Youth, the
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Mission (SPMM) has been implemented to bring in
economic, social and basic development of the rural areas in cluster models.
This project is to be implemented on a large scale in all the States.

The
focus areas for the NEC at the macro-level:

The emphasis was on some
priority areas –

- Introduction of Panchayati Raj System in the 6th
Schedule Areas which will strengthen the local economy as well as strengthen
the local structures in these areas.

- Need for optimum
utilisation of mobilising groups like women groups, self-help groups and
other units with a view to channelize their energy for social transformation,
particularly at the grass-roots level.

- The North-East’s natural
resources, bio-diversities, unique and diverse demographic profile and the
Region’s proximity with South East Asian Nations require a concerted and
synergistic efforts towards its development in which the NEC has been mandated
to bolster its development and play a lead role.

- The world’s latest
technologies and management techniques to be laid stress upon so as to
expedite the development of the Region.

- The right mix of
human resources with the natural resources is to be concentrated
upon so as to bring about optimum development of the Region.

- Assam is the largest
State in the NE Region with 30% of the land area and 68 % of the total
population. An equitable allocation and distribution of funds was required for
the States to proceed with a collective endeavour for the all-round development
of the Region.

A
Special Cover brought out by the N.E. Postal circle, Department of Posts, India
was released to mark the 65th NEC Plenary session on 03.06.2016 in
Shillong, Meghalaya.

The Front of the Special
Cover

The Front of the Special Cover
brought out by the N.E. Postal Circle depicts on the left, four stylised ice capped
peaks with the sun shining on them with a solitary cloud, symbolising the unexplored
potential of the North Easter Region, which is now undergoing a transformation.
Below the stylised imagery is mentioned the theme of the Special Cover “ Uttar Poorv Parishad, Shillong Ka 65Van
Poorn Sammelan, 27 Mai 2016” (in Hindi) and “65th Plenary of North Eastern
Council, Shillong, 27 May 2016” (in English).

On the right top hand side
is the Rs.5/- stamp showing a Cineraria bloom. On the left of the stamp is a
sticker showing the stylised logo of the 65th Plenary of the NEC.
The Cancellation is inscribed “65th Plenary of North Eastern Council, Shillong”.
The Cancellation is dated “3.6.16” and is of Shillong.

The Back of the Special
Cover

The Back of the Special
Cover is inscribed on the top “65th Plenary of North Eastern Council, Shillong,
27 May 2016”. On the bottom is the logo of India Post together with the name of
the Approving Authority – Chief Postmaster General, N.E. Circle, Shillong. The
Approval no. is given NE/09/2016-2017. The number of Special Covers printed is
500 Covers.

6 comments:

Ramchandra Lalingkar has commented:"On the occasion of "65th Plenary of North Eastern Council which is the nodal agency for developmental schemes being implemented by the Central Govt you have given detailed information about the 'North-Eastern' region of Indian continent which was almost neglected so far. This post is educative and every Indian should know about N-E region which is very important strategic region on the far north-east border of India. Thanks for sharing."

Thank you so much, Lalingkar sahab. I have virtually written the action points and the macro-level focus areas for the NEC on my own after studying over 10 information sources, just as i used to during my SBI days.

Ramchandra Lalingkar has further commented:"I have got special attraction for N-E region, especially Arunachal Pradesh which I visited during the year 2000 along with three other SBI colleagues with the help of Vivekanand Kendra who are running more than 35 schools since 1974 in various villages of A.P. My daughter Aparna was posted in Tafragao (AP) as 'Seva-vrati Teacher' for two years."

About Me

I am Rajeev Prasad, a retired State Bank of India officer who had been collecting coins in a shoe box without having a serious interest. Only after quitting my job I got the time to take serious interest in developing my coin collection into a hobby. A pity, because I would have had more opportunity to lay my hands on more 'exclusive coins' while in the Bank. Anyway, as they say,better late than never. If you have any views to share with me regarding this blog , please contact me on my email rajeevprasad1208@gmail.com. I also have a twitter account @prasad_rajeev.
I had an opportunity to participate in a Documentary on the life and times of the 25 paise coin titled “Chal Basi Chavanni” (The four anna/twenty five paise coin passes away), aired by STAR NEWS on 29th and 30th June 2011. The programme helped in making many persons hold back onto their “chavannis”, the little round beauties, instead of returning them to Banks .